


Once Upon a Time

by WishIwasMeg



Category: Benton Fraser/ Margaret Thatcher, due South
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28465683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishIwasMeg/pseuds/WishIwasMeg
Summary: A Due South fairytale
Relationships: Ben/Meg
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Once Upon a Time

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year to all who love Ben & Meg (and even to those who don’t!) Let’s hope for better times in 2021!

“Once upon a time there was a beautiful queen called Margaret. She ruled a land far away and she was wise and kind and everyone who knew her said she was a very good queen. But kind and wise and beautiful as this queen was, she was very sad. You see, she spent all her time ruling her people wisely and kindly, but she was very lonely because being a queen meant that you couldn’t really have friends like ordinary folk had friends. You would never know if they wanted to be your friend because they really liked you, or just because you were the queen.

So Queen Margaret went about ruling her kingdom wisely and kindly but feeling very sad and lonely. Many kings and princes and lords came to see her and wanted to marry her, but she had no time for them and sent them away. The only real friend she had was a lowly knight called Sir Benton who served at her court. He was handsome and gentle, and he loved the queen very much. She loved him too, but because he was just a lowly knight, she hid her love and sometimes treated him very harshly.

One day a great lord from a far country came to the queen’s court. He was called Lord Henry and he was big, and ugly and very, very nasty. He wanted to marry the queen and at first he tried being nice to her. But the queen hated him and said she would never marry him. Then Lord Henry turned very nasty indeed and said if the queen did not marry him, he would bring his army and kill all the queen’s people and take over the queen’s country. Now Queen Margaret was very worried when she heard this, because hers was a peaceful country and she did not have an army to fight wars.

She didn’t know what to do because she did not want to marry Lord Henry, but she didn’t want her people to be killed by Lord Henry’s army. She was weeping in the palace garden one day when Sir Benton found her.  
‘Don’t cry, my queen,’ he said taking her hand and kissing it. ‘I will ride into Lord Henry’s country and save you.’  
So he mounted his trusty steed and rode for many days till he came to Lord Henry’s country. There he found a sad sight, because the people were poor and hungry and hated their lord. So Sir Benton gathered all the people of Lord Henry’s country together and said: ‘Friends! Who will join with me to get rid of this wicked tyrant?’  
And all the people shouted ‘I will’ and they marched to Lord Henry’s castle and seized him and put him in prison in the dungeons. And even the soldiers in his army were glad that he was gone because he treated them cruelly and they were afraid of him. Then Lord Henry’s people said to Sir Benton: ‘We want you to be our leader now.’  
But he replied: ‘No, I must go back to my own country. You must choose a wise and just leader from among your own people.’

So Sir Benton returned to his own country, and the people there welcomed him as a great hero who had saved them. And Queen Margaret said: ‘I have long loved you in secret, but now I see you are worthy to be my husband and to help me rule my people. We must be married if you are willing.’

Then Sir Benton took the queen into his arms and kissed her, and they were married, and in due time they had a little princess whom they called Molly. Then when Princess Molly was four years old, they had a little baby prince. And they all lived happily…….”

“No, no, Daddy! That bit’s wrong!” Molly Fraser knew this story word for word and asked for it at bedtime nearly every time her father put her to bed. She did not appreciate variations or additions.  
“What bit, my precious?”  
“The bit at the end. The bit about the baby prince.”  
“Why do you say that, love?”  
“ ‘Cos the beautiful queen was called Queen Margaret, right?”  
“Yes.”  
“And the lowly knight was called Sir Benton.”  
“That’s correct.”  
“And the little princess was called Molly.”  
“Right again, sweetheart.”  
“Just like you, me and Mommy?”  
“Just like you, me and Mommy.”  
“But we don’t have a baby prince.”  
“No, my angel, but we soon will have. You’re going to have a new baby brother.”  
“Today?”  
“No, love. Round about Easter time.”  
“Will the Easter Bunny bring him?”  
“No. He’s growing inside Mommy’s tummy just like you did. But when he’s ready, he’ll come out and you’ll be his big sister and you’ll help Mommy and me look after him, won’t you?”  
“What will he be called?”  
“Well, maybe we’ll wait till he gets here and decide what he looks like. Maybe you can help us choose his name.”  
“Cool!” she said with a yawn.  
“Now you settle down and go to sleep.” Tenderly he tucked the little girl in and kissed her cheek.  
“Love you, Daddy.”  
“Love you, princess. Sleep tight!”

Quietly he closed the bedroom door and made his way to the kitchen where Meg was loading the dishwasher.  
“Did you tell her?”  
“Yes.”  
“Let’s just hope Dr Timmins is right about the baby being a boy.”  
“It won’t matter to me one way or the other, my darling,” he said softly, encircling her expanding waistline and drawing her in for a kiss. “As long as you and the baby are well that’s all that counts.”  
She yawned. “I’ve had quite a day, Ben. I’m tired. Let’s have an early night.”  
“Your wish is my command, my queen.” He smiled at her as hand in hand they headed for their bedroom. His world was complete; a wife he loved more than life itself, a daughter he adored and soon a little son. With joy in his heart he contemplated their happy ever after.


End file.
